Saturday, May 3, 2014

Patrick's 1st Birthday Muppet Party

Wow. What a fantastic day and absolutely perfect first birthday party for our little man!! Yesterday, his actual birthday, was so much fun. But today, getting to celebrate the first year of Patrick with all of our friends and family? Well, that was just the icing on the cake (literally!).

As many of you know, Mike and I have a deep affinity for any and all things Muppet--Seasme Street included. So when we decided to do baby Mooney's room Muppet themed (because if the baby was a boy or girl, it would work), it naturally stuck that the Muppets would be a reoccurring theme in this household. When it was time to party plan, Mike and I decided we would do a Muppet themed party too--because it kind of brought his first year of life full-circle.

We wanted to keep it fun yet simple--we were going to have it in our basement (which is gigantic and perfect for party-hosting), and just have hot dogs, brats, chips, Muppet-themed fruit and veggie trays, and cupcakes. Decorations we were going to keep simple too: anything Muppet/Seasme Street we could find (surprisingly there isn't a lot of Muppet stuff out there), some adorable homemade centerpieces and decorations my mom and aunt Kate did, and his monthly growth pictures on display. Easy peasy.

I just did some simple decorations in the basement--I definitely wanted it Muppet-themed, but I didn't want to go completely overboard either. A lot of this Muppet stuff (the Muppet dolls, giant Kermit, etc...) we already had, so I just moved them to the basement for his party.

My mom made this awesome party flag that we can use again for other parties we host--but it worked perfectly for his first birthday party. I also found some Muppet balloons on Amazon--and I thought Kermit fit perfectly on our mailbox.

Although not as good as the ones I've found on Pinterest, I think my Muppet/Seasme Street fruit and veggie characters turned out pretty well!

The ball pit was a HUGE hit with all of the kids that came! I don't think a minute passed without a kid being in it! Score! Even though Patrick isn't a huge fan now (by himself), I KNOW he will be when he gets a little older. His awesome cousin Lizzy and Aunt Katie and Uncle Matt got him a cool slide that fits right into the ballpit too! Very shortly I think he's going to figure that out and I'm going to have a hard time keeping him out of it!

I think he really enjoyed his cake (no, this wasn't his first taste of sugar, but it was his first cake!)--our awesome friend Nicole (from Chow Time Cupcakes) made it for him! How freaking adorable is it?!!

The cake eating was definitely my favorite part. Nicole did such an awesome job on the cake--I almost felt bad having Patrick tear into it! He sure enjoyed it though...ommm nommmm nommmmm!

He got a super cool police cary cozy coupe from Grandma and Grandpa Mooney! I don't know who liked it more: Mike or Patrick!

Patrick made a killing with the gifts that he got! He definitely was not interested in doing the unwrapping (he'll learn)--probably because it was super close to nap time and there were like one-thousand other, more interesting things (and people!) to be playing with and exploring. Either way, he sure got some awesome stuff! We seriously have the nicest friends and family out there! Thank you so much for spoiling our little man!

All in all our little man had an amazing birthday and first birthday party. We could not have asked for a better day for him! We are so thankful for all of our friends and family--near and far!--that send birthday love and shared in this special day with us. You only turn one once, so I hope we made a lasting mark on Patrick with all of his first birthday love!

I am in love with Patrick’s first birthday muppet party. Keep sharing such enjoyable posts here. Anyway, my son will also turn 2 and I am planning a cake smash party for him and would like to pick some beautiful outdoor venues in Chicago for that.